Spiritual Solutions

Beginning in the twelfth chapter of Genesis, we read how Abraham was guided by Spirit to leave where he lived to journey to a land which God would show him. He set off, taking with him his wife and his nephew, Lot, and they ended up in the land of Canaan.

Along the way they had prospered greatly, but then the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot quarreled and since they now had so many herds the land couldn’t support them. So Abraham suggested they go their separate ways, and being a generous man he gave the fertile Jordan valley to Lot, and Abraham went up into the hilly country.

It was there that God spoke to Abraham, with these words: “Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever.”

This is a great message for us all today, for we tend to be limited in our ability to see a greater horizon and all its possibilities. So, “lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are.”

In a sense, this is what we do in inner prayer and meditation. We climb to the heights of spiritual consciousness, get a larger perspective, a cosmic vision, see ourselves and the world around us with a wider sense of what we might call far horizons. We are lifted up out of an illusion of separateness, consciousness has a direct perception of awareness and we experience what the scriptures call the “grace of God.”

Charles Fillmore, co-founder of the Unity movement, once said, “Man can never discern more than a segment of the circle in which he moves, although his powers and capacities are susceptible to infinite expansion. He discovers a faculty in himself and cultivates it until it opens out into a universe of co-related faculties. The farther he goes into mind, the wider its horizons until he is forced to acknowledge that he is not the personal, limited thing he appears, but the focus of an infinite idea.”

In other words, it is not man’s geographical or material horizons that have held him in chains through the centuries, but the limited horizons of his mind. He has looked out to a limited horizon and has beheld a picture of evil and limitation and frustration, old age, certainty of death.

The great message of Truth which Jesus brought changed all this. He said, “Know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.” You shall see with a wider viewpoint, and you shall see more broadly. You shall see with a loftier insight from a cosmic perspective of Truth. We need to extend our horizons, add to our faith with the positive knowledge that there is more good for us, that there is more good within us. So how do we push back the boundaries and extend our horizons? Long ago the instruction was given. Isaiah put it this way, “A highway shall be there and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness.”

Jesus was a pioneer in the way of holiness. And in the early days of Christianity, the followers of Jesus were called “followers of the Way.” It is the way of wholeness; it is the way of Truth; it is the way of the cosmic perspective. Jesus went on ahead so we could follow the path, showing us how we too can deal with certain fundamental spiritual laws. He went over the obstacles, meeting the challenges in the midst of life, so that the way could be clear for us, the way of holiness, the way of demonstration, the way of going beyond the horizon to an expanded life. “Abundant living,” he called it.

So, resolve today that you will constantly lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, that you will cultivate a sense of far horizons and expanded vision, that you will see reality in spite of appearances. And the way will open before you.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over forty years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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Trust and Surrender are such important elements in a unified consciousness. We tend to think of trust as something we give in response to something we get but, as spiritual teacher Jeddah Mali reminds us: “In the spiritual world it works exactly the other way around. First we extend trust and then we experience the fruits of safety.”

Many people feel that it is naïve to extend trust without a good reason or a good history to back up such a decision, that with so many violent and disturbing events on our planet, fear is a valid response. But is it? What does fear do for us? It produces an environment where we see different circumstances as a threat. If we are fearful we are putting out a strong message, and thoughts held in mind tend to produce after their kind. We draw our fears toward us and we can say with Job, “That which I feared has come upon me.” Then when we experience the very circumstances we were afraid of we often use it as a justification for being afraid in the first place. Little do we realize that we are creating it over and over again.

How often do we question the validity of our fears? When you come to think about it, you can see that all fear stems from something imagined that may happen to us in the future. We seldom have fears about anything in the past, and we rarely fear what may happen today.

Check up on your fears, find out their origin, and doubtless you will find that every one of them has some reference to the future. And therefore it is based upon an unreality, because the future is unreal; it doesn’t exist. Only the present is really important. So stop thinking so much about the future or living in it, and you will no longer be tortured with thoughts about what tomorrow might bring. If you learn to do this, you will experience a richness of life that you could never have dreamed possible. The anxieties and petty fears that now keep you upset about the future will be gone.

The future as we think about it cannot be lived ahead of time. We are in the midst of life now, so let’s live in the present knowing that those things that do not really exist, such as things in the future, cannot harm us or hurt us. As we learn to live today, we shall discover more resources in our lives than we ever thought existed.

To live a completely happy life, all of life must be lived in the present, not in the future and not in the past, which is, of course, impossible except for the mind. When we try to live in the past, our lives are often lives of regret and remorse. If we live in the future, it is usually a life of fear and worry. Only the present is truly important and if it is lived happily, joyfully, filled with peace and comfort both in mind and body, then the future is bound to be more of the same.

From the activity of the Divine Presence time comes to you one moment at a time, and it is your joyous privilege to live each moment as it comes. Into each moment comes the power that is God, poised in influence and action. Therefore, there is never a moment when you are really lacking in strength, wisdom, harmonizing love, and creative power to do all the things that need to be done by you.

There’s only one thing you cannot do – you cannot stop that central light of God shining in you. You can completely surrender to that understanding, for you have no presence outside the Divine Presence; you live in it, move in it, and have your being in it. And surrender is not giving up what we love; it’s giving up engaging in what’s holding us back, our doubts and fears and limiting thoughts. Profound trust surrenders us to our good.

There is never one moment when you are farther from the all-sufficiency of the Infinite than one prayerful thought. Remember this when you are tempted to worry about the future. I love the thought expressed by one man in his realization of the Divine flow in and through his life: “I am spiritually drenched with divinity.” Can you imagine anything that could bring you more happiness and peace of mind? Once you begin to feel the presence of the eternal in every fiber of your being, you will give up worry and dread in regard in regard to the future. You will give up trying to live in a world that is yet to come.

You have only the present at your command. Let the past remain past, and let the future come to you as it will. Possess life now and live each day as it comes, serenely, joyously, comfortably and with a deep active trust and faith in the presence and power and love of God expressed in and through and as you.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over forty years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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Now that the children are back in school, my wife Kathryn and I find ourselves saying “Bless the children” every time we drive by as the different schools in our area are letting out and we see all the beautiful children meeting parents or getting on buses to go home.

This last two weeks, also, our granddaughter and two friends – all in their early twenties – have been here visiting from England. All three of them attend Chester University and are in a geography and natural hazard management course together and they elected to do their thesis on hurricanes, so what better place to do their research than Florida – right?

For most of the first week they had no car and had to use public transport so it took them a long time to get anywhere for the interviews they had set up, especially when they had to get back and forth between St. Petersburg and Tampa. But then they were able to rent a car and experience driving on our roads; remember in England they drive on the left, so it provided an additional adventure for them to drive on the right.

It has been such a delight to see their excitement and openness to learning as they undertook their research and to experience their youthful spirit and exuberance. And it got me to thinking about youthfulness and how it can be expressed and maintained at any age because it is truly a state of mind or consciousness. Life is, but we do with life what we want according to our state of mind. As Herbert Spencer said, “It is the mind that maketh good or ill, that maketh rich or poor . . .” and perhaps we could add “It is the mind that maketh young or old.”

We can develop an awareness of youthfulness by looking at the young and trying to understand what it is that makes a youthful spirit. What is it about the young person that makes him or her so appealing? Usually they are not at all aware of it themselves, so there is sometimes a tendency for young people to misuse this process. As George Bernard Shaw said, “What a pity that we waste youth on the very young before they are old enough to know what to do with it.”

Now Jesus tells us to become as little children, but this doesn’t mean that we should become childish, nor does it mean that we should ape young people. The first thing is to create a consciousness. Become interested and interesting in life and all the things related to life. Then allow this consciousness to guide you in the way in which you live.

One of the endearing things about young people is that they can pick up experiences and relationships and lay them aside just as easily. This ability to move from one experience to another is very much a part of youthfulness. A young person doesn’t yearn over loss; he or she tends to let go easily without holding on and accumulating additional burdens.

A parent cannot be youthful in consciousness unless he or she develops the ability to let go, which partly means to let go of his or her children and make oneself progressively unnecessary as a parent. This, of course, is very difficult for some persons. But the one who learns to let go is the parent who becomes youthful.

There is also a great need to keep an open mind. An open mind, an awareness of the versatility of life, the willingness to look at many levels of perception, consciousness and many different shades of meaning, political viewpoints, interests and so forth – these give us an eagerness for discovery.

You can work to develop a youthful spirit. Say to yourself, “Let not one day pass when I have not learned some new thing.” Youthfulness is being interested in life. Nothing is uninteresting to the young mind, and in this life there is nothing uninteresting. Youthfulness is curiosity; there is adventure in the simplest of things. When Charles Fillmore, co-founder of the Unity movement, was in his nineties he awoke one morning and said, “I fairly sizzle with zeal and enthusiasm, and I spring forth with a mighty faith to do the things that should be done by me.” He was at the age of ninety-four! That’s youthfulness.

Youthfulness is the ability to dream the impossible dream, to have the courage to launch out into new experiences, even into the unknown. “Dare to dream, fling wide the gates to your heart,” says the poet. Dream of greater things, dream of new tomorrows and let your mind expand in considering all the possibilities that could happen in your life. Stop looking back in regret but look forward in faith and optimism, holding life with a light touch. Live the youthful spirit; be the person that, in heart at the root of you, you always are.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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The following story appeared in Alan Cohen’s newsletter recently, with his thought-provoking suggestion that we look within ourselves to discover the treasure waiting to be brought forth in our own life experience. Enjoy!

Earlier this month the nation of India discovered a nearly unbelievable treasure locked in the basement of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum. The cache of gold statues, diamonds, and jewels was accumulated through donations to the temple by wealthy families over a period of 500 years.  Locked in six tightly secured rooms, no one has viewed the booty for over 150 years.         

     The value of the find is currently estimated at a minimum of $22 billion, perhaps much more.  Indian leaders are now deciding what to do with the treasure, the sum of which exceeds India’s annual budget for education for the entire nation of nearly 1.2 billion people.

     Since what you see outside you, including public news, represents what is happening inside you, the news is good for all of us.  You have an extraordinary treasure hidden in your basement. You own a royal fortune of talent, insight, creativity, vision, love, and connection to universal wisdom. Like the treasure at Padmanabhaswamy, your cache has largely been locked away.  Yet the day comes when the riches are liberated and put to good use.  No one benefits from gold sitting in a dark chamber, especially when circulating it can improve the world. How many people in India can be fed for $22 billion? How many homes could be built for the many impoverished there? How many children could be educated so they can create better lives for themselves and their families?

     I think it symbolic and appropriate that the greatest hidden treasure of all time has been unearthed in one of the most overtly poor nations on the planet.  No matter the appearance of lack or bleakness the outer world shows us, there exists an invisible gift to offset it. The issues of the world seem insurmountable: the ecological crisis, financial deficit, war, hunger, and social and moral decay. Yet there are answers and healing for all of these pressing issues if we just look below the surface, and go within.

     The deity of the Trivandrum Temple, Padmanabhaswamy, represents the Hindu Lord Vishnu asleep. Perhaps Lord Vishnu is waking up as an inspiration for all of us to join him.

Read more of the story

Remember, God is Blessing You Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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“There is sunshine in my soul today,
It is glorious and bright . . .

“O there’s sunshine, blessed sunshine,
As the peaceful, happy moments roll;
For I behold the Christ in every face
And there’s sunshine in my soul.”

So go the words of a long-time Unity joy song.

Yes, there is sunshine in your soul today, and all you have to do is tap into it and express it in your life. Let the sunshine radiate out from your smile and bless all whom you meet.

Jesus said, “You will know the Truth and the Truth will make you free.” (John 8:32) He is speaking of that which is eternally true; he is talking about a revelation of the depths within, giving rise to a perception that evokes a spirit of joy. Again, he said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)

One of the great discoveries of human unfoldment is that happiness is not an effect . . . but a cause, and that a person is happy, not because of what did or did not happen, but because he or she is a happy person. Unity minister Eric Butterworth was fond of saying, “Within every person is the unborn possibility of limitless joy . . . and ours is the privilege of giving birth to it.” And it was Charles Fillmore, co-founder of the Unity movement, who said, “Life for every person should be a journey in jubilance.”

Certainly everyone wants to be happy, for it is the “summum bonum of existence.” But we have been deluded into thinking that it is to be found in things, experiences, and relationships. Indeed, that viewpoint is reflected in another sunshine song which goes something like this:

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine;
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you;
Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

A woman who was sick, burdened with financial crises, and troubled with discouragement, ran across these words in a Truth publication: “Until you are happy you will be neither healthy nor free.” “How can I be happy,” she thought, “when I have so much pain and trouble?” The words would not let her be. So she decided to test the idea.

Looking honestly at herself, she found that there were glaring defects in her disposition that needed correction. With effort, she began to live more calmly, to see life more clearly. She found other Truth ideas that suggested that God had implanted the spark of joy within each person, and that she had only to express joy to experience it.

The woman then discovered she could start the spirit of joy by simply “acting as if she were happy.” Now, this “act as if” practice can become a lure into sham and artificiality. It is valid only if it deals with the releasement of an inner power that is constant. You may act as if you are a child, or an expression, of God, for that is what you are. And you may act as if you are happy, for there is a bubbling fire of joy at the heart of you awaiting your commitment to express it.

The woman discovered an amazing thing. As she began to act as if she were happy, she began to feel happy, and the happier she felt, the stronger and healthier she felt . . . and thus the greater became her reasons for happiness. Before long her disposition improved, her affairs harmonized, and she was back in the fullness of life. And it all started the moment she realized that “until you are happy you will be neither healthy nor free.”

There is an important principle involved in this. We live in a world of rhythm and harmony which is limitless in potential, and each of us is limitless in the capacity to demonstrate a personal experience of that limitlessness. But we must become synchronized, and an important key is the bubbling forth of a jubilant spirit.

Begin every day with the insistent affirmation, “This is the day which the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” When you start your day in a happy spirit, with joy in your heart and a smile on your face, people respond. You leave a “mile of smiles” as you walk along, and all your business and social contacts are influenced by this contagion. Your day will be a day you can be happy about, because it is a day that you are happy in.

Here are some words from another Unity joy song to adopt as your own:

I let my light shine and the obstacles vanish,
I let my light shine and the light casts out fear,
I let my light shine and the radiance heals me,
I let my light shine and my way is made clear.
Son light is the Truth of my nature,
Son light is God shining through me,
I let my light shine, and my world is illumined,
I let my light shine and the light sets me free!

Remember, God is Blessing You Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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There is an ancient scriptural Truth that should be pasted on the medicine cabinet of every home: “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” (Isa. 26:3) This could be altered to read: “Thou dost keep her in perfect health whose mind is stayed on the idea that God is the healing power of nature, that God is ever with her and in her as the limitless healing and sustaining influence.” You see, LIFE is the gift of the infinite to you. You can’t get away from it. It has hold of you and it will never let you go.

Life itself is whole, complete, perfect. Life never gets sick or tired. But you can mobilize and use this gift of life in the way you choose. If you think you are weak and sickly, then that is the way you will draw upon, and use, life. You live in a world of your own making. Much depends upon what you give your mind to think about. Paul said, and I paraphrase, “Whatever is good and pure and lovely, think on these things.” (Phil. 4:8)

It requires a lot of real discipline and self-control to meet the challenges of life with peace and poise and with a positive attitude of mind. But you have no other choice. A healthy mind is essential if you would have a healthy body. It may well be more important what you give your mind for breakfast than what you give your body. Interestingly, I just received an email from fellow Unity ministers Lauren and John Mclaughlin to say that, for the past 90 days, both of them have been experiencing what John calls “opportunities to heal.” They said they accepted many of those opportunities as they worked their way through their challenges.

It’s good to remember that you have a built-in capacity for health and for the healing of the ills that have intruded their way into your system. But you must cooperate with God and also with the physical body. There are certain built-in control mechanisms that determine the needs of the body, either the need for rest or for nutrients. When functioning properly, this mechanism will lead us to desire sleep or this or that good through which the needs may be filled.

It is well to have faith in the innate perfection of the body, perhaps even to declare that the body is the temple of the living God, and then to let the inner spirit guide us in the right and wise use of mind and body. There is a wisdom within that will keep us balanced in wise action, if we believe in it and act upn the belief.

There is probably nothing more effective than the healing therapy of joy. Happiness is something too many people take for granted. Either you are happy or you’re not, and there is nothing you can do about it – so the thinking goes. But there is so much more involved. Joy is an instrument we can learn to play, like the violin or the piano. If we studied happiness and delved into it the way we do the various disease symptoms that are in vogue today, we would have less discontent – and we would find it easy to release the free flow of life.

A happy heart, a cheerful countenance, and a smiling face – all are concomitants of health. We need to have the liberating, harmonizing currents of love and  joy awakened within us. The key is to get the mind lifted up on a new level of consciousness. Start the day with a song – even when you don’t feel much like singing. Make joy your way of life.

Did you ever notice that when a person does something that is relaxing and enjoyable, he or she may say, “Ah, this is the life!” Remember, the potential for abundant life is always within you. You must express it. So, every day of your life, no matter what lies before you, declare with enthusiasm, “AH, THIS IS THE LIFE!” And feel good about it.

Begin every day with a song. Know that the body is the temple of the living God. Give thanks with joy that an Infinite intelligence within you guides you in what you eat, how you exercise, and in the complete and whole expression of life itself.

Remember, God is Blessing You Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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Without deep roots we merely exist; our lives are shallow. Unless deeply rooted in spiritual principles, we do not and cannot develop into individuals of stature and worth, such as we are intended to be. If we felt sure that our roots were deep set and established enough to withstand whatever storm comes along, then our morale would not be shaken by any winds that might blow.

George Elliot once said that no human being can live a whole and wholesome life unless rooted to some particular spot in the soil. The spot of soil we allude to also means for us a working philosophy, an orientation of spiritual principles without which we lead superficial lives with only surface roots; and the winds of worldly experience easily bowl us over.

There are two aspects to every strong life, rootage and fruitage, receptivity and activity, relaxation and tension, leaning back and thrusting forward. But he or she who cannot do one cannot do the other very well. He or she who is unable to rest cannot work effectively either. He or she who cannot let go cannot hold on very firmly. He or she who cannot find footing cannot progress. If one cannot let go, one has nothing substantial to rest on; one hasn’t grown dependable roots and doesn’t know how to “let go and let God.”

With strong roots you can withstand any wind; and this is what we are urging – building an awareness of your inner resources, an awareness of your divine son-ship, the Christ in you.

The story is told of a young war veteran who was finally released from the hospital where he had been recovering after being seriously wounded in action. Arriving home at last, he discovered that not only was his only child ill with pneumonia and in a foster home, and was to die a week later, but also that his wife had been living in a most irresponsible way, drinking to excess, and had wasted virtually all of the young man’s property and savings. To top it off, she was now getting a divorce from him. Stunned by this, he felt he was truly done for, and that there was no reason for him to go on living.

Shortly thereafter, while riding on a bus he passed the spot along the highway where stands the old live oak under which the poet Sidney Lanier wrote The Marshes of Glynn. This made him recall the poet’s struggle to attain perfection in his composing and writing although handicapped by serious illness. He remembered these few lines which he had memorized as a schoolboy and which had been his favorites:

“As the marsh he secretly builds on the watery sod, behold I will build me a   nest on the greatness of God. I will fly in the greatness of God as the marsh hen flies in the freedom that fills all the space ‘twixt the marsh and the skies. By so many roots as the marsh grass sends in the sod, I will heartily lay me a hold on the greatness of God.”

Suddenly, things began to happen in the young veteran’s mind. “Why, I can be like that; I can do that too!” He wrote down these lines as a commitment to himself on a little card and placed it on a mirror where he couldn’t help but see it frequently: “I must put the past out of mind and relax; live one day at a time, reaching out each morning, every hour to take hold of the greatness of God and the beauty and goodness and healing power that surround me without and within, no matter where I am.”

Later, he spoke a good deal of his experience, explaining that at first he could barely get through a day, but he made these words a daily prayer, thereby finding healing and peace of mind and a renewed sense of purpose and the inspiration to build a new life as he cast all his former hurts and heartaches on that power within.

I firmly believe that when we accept the idea that we are plenteously provided for from within, and also act as if this were true, something happens . . . the taproot begins to grow, so to speak, and the entire experience begins to unfold. In that consciousness we never know lack, we never feel insecurity, we are never helpless. We are rather like the one described by the Psalmist, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Ps. 1:3)

You can be sure that when you have given good attention to growing roots, the roots will care for themselves and bring forth the fruits of good living.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now,

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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It is normal to want to be with only those people with whom you are comfortable, but this is neither realistic nor healthy. If you were surrounded only with those who agree with you, life would be quite static. If two persons only agree, then there is nothing creative or dynamic in the relationship.

Six hundred years B. C. the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu defined life as “to be in relation,” and taught that man lives in proportion to the number of points with which he makes contact with life and with the world. There is a great unity of life, but also a great diversity. Everyone, in his or her own manner, is a creative expression of the same Mind, the same Creator, but unity does not mean sameness. You are not like everyone else, and others are not just like you. It is important, from the very beginning of any relationship, to agree to let the other person just be. People have always differed from one another, and they always will; we must expect this and learn to live with it, learn from it, and enjoy it.

I f people are not what we would wish them to be, if they don’t react as we desire, there is no reason to become angry or be discouraged, any more than we would get mad at a light bulb for not shining when there was a faulty connection. You cannot change others any more than you can change electricity, but you can change the level at which you deal with them. You can transform your attitudes, your expectation, your prejudices and your fears; you can overcome your own resistance to them.

When you climb to a different level in order to draw light from the other person, then it will find expression, and now you are seeing a different facet of that person’s nature which has always been there but which had been obscured by attitudes of a temporary nature. Change your vantage point and you will see others from a different level.

Perhaps we have not yet learned to “turn on the light” when trying to get along with others. If we were always to turn on the light before we make contact with people, that light would reveal for us both a basis of relationship. Two people, approaching each other timidly, each feeling that the other must prove himself worthy, both therefore withholding, have little chance of achieving a harmonious relationship. First turn on the light and begin to find the points of contact that will be enjoyable.

We must condition ourselves to enjoy and learn from diversity within unity. We are all children of God, yet we are all different from one another. Don’t expect people to always agree with you or follow your styles or manners or mores. Don’t expect people to live as you. Accept them as human beings just as you want them to accept you

It is occasionally instructive to take a long, hard look at yourself. Do you by any chance see in yourself an opinionated person, the kind that is being invariably disliked? This results from a feeling of insecurity and is expressed with the refusal to consider any variations. You could practice what one writer called the “invincible might of meekness,” the humility to recognize your own limitations and to admit that others have ideas and their own kind of worthiness. Have enough spirit of adventure to listen to others and to consider their ways.

So many of us have a pervasive fear of change in ourselves and a dislike of change in others. Shakespeare wrote, “Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds.” Be sure your motives for befriending someone are not selfish. Relate to the person as he or she really is. Every person has his own life story, his own situation, so be sensitive and responsive to this and not to your own preconceived attitudes or feelings of what he should be.

Try not to fall to the level of being irritated, angry or annoyed at others. Ask yourself as a scientist would, “Why do I react in this way?” Why let someone else determine how you feel? Then ask yourself why the other person behaved as he did. What inner conflicts might he have? Does he suffer from feelings of unworthiness? Has she just experienced a crushing defeat? Is he afraid of you? Dealing with situations in this manner will not only free you from being irritated, but may well find you going out of your way to assist the other person rather than hurting yourself by resenting him or her and fighting back.

It is a great feeling to be able to study others objectively and to master your own personal reactions. It does not require any special greatness of soul, only the willingness to attempt it and to work at it. You will be thrilled to see your true self shine, rather than always resorting to being defensive. Act out of your own largeness of spirit; be what you want to be and accept all others as they want to be.

Refuse to permit life or other persons to decide how you are going to act or feel. Develop control over yourself at all times, whatever the situation might be. Know that life is growth and that everyone has something to bring to it. Meeting life in this consciousness, you will attract to you the kind of people who will make life worthwhile.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
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Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

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Each person must let his or her own light shine – the illuminating principle within you, the Christ in you, the hope of glory – and cast its beam into the dark and needy places of others on the path.

One of the really heart-warming stories coming out of the darkness of Nazi terrorism in the Second World War is the story of Phillip Vernier, who was subjected to just about every form of indignity because he was a man of peace. They placed him in a filthy prison without cause, and they starved his fine family. An American officer, who called on him afterwards, reported that the visit with this man, this luminous soul, was the high-water mark of his life, and that this gentleman was “incorrigibly Christian.” Here are some words from a letter in Vernier’s hand:

“If you are a disciple of the Master, it is up to you to illumine the earth. You do not have to groan over everything the world lacks, you are there to bring it what it needs. There where reign hatred, malice and discord, you will put love, pardon and peace. For lying you will bring truth, for despair . . . hope, for doubt . . . faith. There where there is sadness, you will give joy. If you are in the smallest degree the servant of God, all these virtues of light you will carry with you.

“Do not be frightened by a mission so vast. It is not really you who are charged with the fulfillment of it, you are only the torchbearer. The fire, even when it burns within you, even when it burns you, is never lit by you. It uses you as the oil of the lamp. You hold it, feed it, and carry it around. But it is the fire that works, that gives light to the world, and to yourself at the same time. Do not be the clogged lantern that chokes and smothers the light, the lamp timid or ashamed hidden under a bushel. Flame up and shine before men. Lift high the fire of God!”

It is very important to all of us, certainly to the world about us, that we flame up and shine, that we let our light shine, rather than hiding our lamp under a bushel of fear, worry, prejudice, bitterness and discouragement. Yes, it is so important to let our light shine. We have a tremendous job to cultivate and keep the light of Christ within our faces.

I love the story about Martha Purdy, who lived alone in a one-room weather-stained shack on a little island of the rocky coast of Maine many years ago. Although she was confined to a wheelchair, she did all her own work. Her few neighbors, on the cliff in back of her little cove, were fisher folk. Every evening, as the shadows deepened, she would light a little candle and place it in her front window. The fishermen coming in late from a haul, sometimes in a storm, would see the tiny ray from Martha’s candle and know where to head for the short strip of beach.

One rainy night, two boats were returning with their load of fish. The men scanned the dark shoreline and there, as usual, was the beam from Martha’s little candle to guide them in. And, as usual, one of the men went up to the little house to tell her they were safely home. But Martha sat very still in her wheelchair. She had quietly passed into “the great beyond” after lighting her one little candle. For a long time after that, the fishermen’s wives would come to Martha’s window and leave a light. They called it “Martha’s light,” in memory of the deed of a thoughtful woman whose candle’s beam carried good to others.

We remember that Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Every time we light just one little candle in our heart, we “glorify” the Father, because through our beam of understanding we more fully let our light shine.

When we light just one little candle of understanding in our heart to aid another who is struggling up from darkness, we lift our own consciousness, and we gain even more than those who we are trying to help. This is the law: “As you give, so do you receive . . . good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.”

Yes, when you let the light of Christ shine from within out, it will soften your features and give you a new radiance that will have a tremendous influence on what you do. If you are a salesperson, it will help you make contracts. If you work in an office, it will give you a sense of rapport with those around you. At home, it will cause your family and children to respond to you with a respect you have never known before. All because from inside out, you are letting the glow of the real spirit within you express. It will change your life, and you will be a part of changing the life of the world around you.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
————————————————————
Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at
www.alanrowbotham.com

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There are three simple things that can bring you newness of life by adding life to your years. First of all, live in what Emerson called “day-tight compartments.” Regardless of your age in years, you have the same twenty-four hours to live as has a young child. See the importance of living one day at a time. Don’t let the weight of many yesterdays bow you down. Today is the only time in eternity. “This is the day which the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

It may be well to remind yourself from time to time of the Sanskrit proverb, “Yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. But today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.” As someone has said, “On the great clock of time there is but one word – now!”

Secondly, don’t allow yourself to get into the position where you have nothing in life to be enthusiastic about. Enthusiasm is the fire and flame of life, and without it you only half live. Youth is not a time of life. It is a state of mind. Eric Butterworth was fond of saying, “My age is none of my business.”

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. When Charles Fillmore, co-founder of the Unity movement, was well into his nineties, he made this statement: “I fairly sizzle with zeal and enthusiasm, and I spring forth with a mighty faith to do the things that need to be done by me.” When have you ever started your day with that kind of consciousness?

Someone said, “We don’t cease playing because we are old. We are old because we cease playing.” The old traditional thought, “Act your age,” should be shunned as a plague. Don’t “act your age;” act your youth! Take a thought such as “I’m alive, awake, joyous and enthusiastic about life.” It doesn’t make any difference how old you are. The important thing is, are you young enough to make such a statement and believe it?

Third, keep your sense of humor. Mark Twain said, “Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.” As someone said, “The sense of humor is the just balance of all the faculties of man, the best security against the pride of knowledge and the conceits of the imagination, and the strongest inducement to submit with a wise and pious patience to the vicissitudes of human existence.”

With maturity and adulthood in life come certain sometimes serious responsibilities and we shouldn’t become an escapist. But the serious business of life can best be done by the person who has a lightness of touch. As Plato once said, undoubtedly with the need for a sense of humor in mind, “It is important to be serious without always being solemn.”

We read in the Bible, “A cheerful heart is good medicine.” This is a prescription that contributes immeasurably to physical and mental health.

Bruce Barton tells a story about a cabinet meeting at the White House during the Lincoln administration, in one of the most critical hours in American history. Around the table the various Secretaries were gathered solemn-faced and silent. To their amazement, Mr. Lincoln, instead of turning to the business at hand, began reading aloud a chapter from the humorous works of Artemis Ward. The cabinet members were too astonished to speak. Stanton was tempted to leave the room in protest. The President, unheeding, read the chapter through, and then laying the book down, he heaved a great sigh and said, “Gentlemen, why don’t you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I did not laugh, I would die, and you need this medicine as much as I do.” And with that, he took from his tall hat The Emancipation Proclamation.

So, why not determine that you will experience newness of life by being truly alive as long as you live? First of all, live in “day-tight compartments,” one day at a time. Second, always keep something in your experience that you can be enthusiastic about. And third, keep a sense of humor. Let your life be made new today, for today is the first day of the rest of your life!

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
————————————————————
Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at
www.alanrowbotham.com

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